It's So You
by noblecrescent
Summary: A collection of one-shots and AUs for Belén & Barry, based on their ongoing story in 'It Had To Be You'. Come and see what they're up to 'behind the scenes' or see the 'what if's' of the AU's!
1. A Difficult Night

**Author's Note:** Hello! Welcome to this collection of what will be one-shots or mini-stories of Belén/Barry and their world. This particular one-shot is an extension of chapter 12 (Not Alone) from the actual story (It Had To Be You) listed on my profile! This chapter can actually be considered canon within the story :)

* * *

Alright, so maybe his bedroom hadn't been left in the neatest state after moving out. Barry took in a breath after gazing at his old bedroom in the Wests' residence. Belén was downstairs, sleeping on the couch, waiting to be moved to her temporary guest room until she felt well enough to live on her own. If it wasn't for Joe using the spare room for storage, Belén could have taken that one. Unfortunately, no one could have predicted the man in yellow would be making a comeback and murdering Belén's father.

But...here they were.

Barry exhaled just before speeding around his room to leave it more presentable, as Iris had suggested before leaving for her shift at Jitters. It took him about a minute or so to make the room decent enough.

When he crept back downstairs he saw nothing had changed in the living room. The television he left on was still going on, muted of course, and Belén was fast asleep on the couch. Barry walked up to the couch and peered from the back to see Belén. She hadn't even moved.

 _She must be really tired,_ he thought.

He moved around the couch and wondered how best to take her to his room without waking her up. Speeding was clearly out of the question. He would have to do it the old fashion way: walking.

"Please don't wake up, please don't wake up," he whispered as he lowered down to pick her up. He carefully slid one arm under her back and the other under her legs and began to bring her up. His arm under her back had to somehow move closer to her neck without waking her up.

If he woke her up, Barry was sure Iris would kill him.

His heart nearly stopped when Belén suddenly breathed in just a little louder than a sleeping person would. He froze midway up the staircase and watched her head move a little. Fortunately, it seemed like she was just trying to find a more comfortable way to sleep - his arm was probably not the best place. Her head lulled against his chest, and the best part was her breathing returned to normal which meant she wouldn't be waking up (God, he hoped!).

He gently kicked his bedroom door to open wider and made a beeline for his bed. He'd pulled the covers before coming for her so he had an easy time putting Belén down. After bringing the covers over her, he made his best effort to silently walk out of the room but...he missed that small beaker on the floor (one of the countless, useless beakers he'd gotten from a flea market). His yelp of nearly tripping over and the fact the beaker actually shattered was enough to wake anyone up.

Belén gasped and immediately sat upright with wide, blinking eyes.

 _ **Now** Iris is going to kill me_, Barry shut his eyes.

Behind him, Belén was taking in the fact she was on an unknown bed and unknown bedroom. "Where am I?" she whispered, her eyes flickering from one side to the next.

Barry turned around and apologetically waved. _My God I'm a dork_ , he berated himself. "Belén, you're at Iris', remember?" he walked towards the bed, motioning with his hands everything was fine (under what fit anyways). "You're staying here…"

"Right…" Belén seemed to be breathing a little harder than normal. "I just...I was...I think I was dreaming…"

Barry could assume the subject. "Your Dad?"

Belén gave a small nod. She visibly swallowed hard and brought a hand to her cheek, her fingers pressing against her skin as the images came back to mind. "I think my brain was actually reconstructing the murder even though I wasn't even there - oh my God!" her eyes widened with full blown fear. "Why would I do that!?"

"Because you're mourning, because you're mad, because...because you are just trying to make sense of it," Barry answered with full blown honesty. Hit the rewind button and this was him as a kid after his mother's murder. "Belén-" he sighed and sat down on the side of the bed, "-this is just a part of it. I'm sorry, that's not helpful, but…"

"I don't want you to lie to me either," Belén let her hand fall to the mattress. "My Dad was murdered and I've got no way to find that guy so this is how my mind punishes me. Fitting."

"Oh no, not fitting at all," Barry shook his head. "You are not going to do that-"

"-you did," she interrupted him with a quiet, yet truthful statement. "I know especially after what happened you're probably on some crusade to not only get revenge for your mom but for my dad too." Barry looking away was proof enough of her words. "This speedster really did a number on us."

"I'm gonna find him," Barry declared, proving her point but he didn't care. The truth was this man in yellow needed to answer for his crimes and now he finally had the means to catch him.

Belén's nod was passing, like she wasn't really present. It was a combination of the situation and her lack of sleep. "Who's room is this?" she noticed the fact there were no articles sprawled around like Iris usually had.

"Mine," Barry answered, and cleared his throat. "Iris figured you would probably want a room to yourself in the meantime and since Joe has the spare room as storage I, uh...I just...brought you here…"

Belén smiled lightly. "Thank you."

Feeling rather awkward, Barry began to get up from the bed. "You're welcome. Um...good night…" Belén's smile faltered, something Barry noticed. "What's wrong?"

"As a kid...when you first came to live with Iris and Joe, um...how did you get...past the nights?"

Because the nights were always more difficult. Barry was definitely no stranger to the hard nights full of nothing but thoughts about his mother and the man who killed her. He felt alone. And now, seeing Belén make circles on the mattress, he knew she was feeling like the loneliest person ever. It didn't matter that she had friends who loved her, or remaining family who loved her, because at this moment her thoughts were on her father who was no longer here.

"I'm not going to lie," he began, taking a seat beside her, "Five out of the seven days of the week I slept on the floor beside Iris' bed." He swallowed hard at the reminders of those nights. "Sometimes you just need to know that there's someone beside you, someone who's not going to leave like…"

"Like your Mom did," Belén was staring at him with sympathy. "Like...my Dad did…"

Barry met her gaze with an exact replica. They remained like this, staring at each other in silence, for a long minute. It wasn't until it dawned on Barry their closeness and the circumstances that he made a push to leave her. "You need your rest. Iris will be back later tonight if you need anything-"

"Don't go," the words left Belén's mouth before she could even think. Barry of course froze at the request while Belén processed what she actually said. Her head turned to the side, her mouth open to fix her mistake. _I have to say something or soon Barry's going to start thinking I'm weird - of course I'm weird for even **asking** him that. Why would I say that? Why would I ever-_

"Sure," Barry's answer cut her thoughts off before she entered some sort of panic attack.

Her eyes widened as she returned her gaze to him. "You...you would…?"

Barry's smile meant he wasn't thinking she was weird. Right? _Pull it together, Belén!_ She inwardly berated herself.

"I want to be that person you know is going to be right beside you, never leaving you," he sat back down on the bed and the moment he did Belén lunged on him for a hug. He laughed and patted her back, but she'd taken his words to heart.

"You are the kindest person I have ever met," she hugged him tightly.

Barry sobered from his laughter and got serious when he heard her words. "I'm just doing what anyone else would do." This was what Joe and Iris had done for him when he was a kid, and now he wanted to do the same for Belén. He pulled away from Belén and gave her a reassuring nod that he would not leave until she was okay.

Even though it was weird, Belén felt a sense of security with Barry. He was sweet and overly kind even when one didn't deserve it. It also didn't hurt that he was actually the Flash but that wasn't what made her feel safe. It was just him and the way that he was.

"I don't want to be alone, Barry, so...thank you," she whispered.

"Of course, Bells," he held her close to him since it didn't appear she wanted to lay down on her own.

Belén never realized when she was falling asleep. When she did fall asleep, Barry stayed still for a couple of minutes until she was truly fast asleep. In the meanwhile of his wait, he noticed how different she breathed when she was asleep. It was peaceful, barely audible actually, and a stark difference from when she was waking up. With any luck, the peacefulness would translate into her dreams and she would sleep through the night.

He really hoped she would find peace in general soon. He and the rest of their friends wanted to see the old Belén back as soon as possible.


	2. The Caretaker

Belén was not having a good day. She'd woken up with a slight headache she thought an aspirin would take care of.

She was so, _so_ wrong.

That slight headache turned into a brick-pounding migraine by noon. Despite her persistence to push through, her body just couldn't agree. Before Belén could even take lunch, her boss sent her home.

"It's not like I have bills to pay and a kid to look after," Belén grumbled while she dumped her things into her purpose.

Iris, who stood beside Belén's desk, just watched her angrily get her things together. She was thinking of suggesting for Belén to leave her work here - since Belén had already stuffed in a couple articles into her bag - but Iris felt doing that was a death sentence.

"You want me to pick up Axel from school?"

Belén froze for a second when she remembered Axel was still at school. Okay, maybe she _was_ a little sick. "Did I just seriously forget my nephew was at school?"

Iris gave a nod and patted Belén's arm. "I tthink you should go rest. Actually..." she moved her hand to Belén's forehead, "I think you may have a fever."

Belén groaned and rolled her eyes. "Of course I do."

"Go home Belén. I'll pick Axel up or someone else can do it, but you go rest," Iris ushered Belén towards the doors.

Belén didn't argue, but it was modtly due to the fact she was dizzy. Iris may have turned her for the doors a little too fast...or maybe it was the fever talking.

Getting home was going to be a blur when Belén would try to remember later that day. That migraine was echoing throughout her body. And boy was she _cold_.

So, so cold.

She grabbed a blanket on the couch and let herself fall on it. She suddenly thought the stairs were like a long maze she wouldn't be able to make.

 _I'll have to get up and take something,_ she thought. _Some migraine pills... something for the fever..._

Those were the last thoughts Belén remembered before closing her eyes.

~0~

"Belén?"

"Mm..."

"Belén? Belén - jesus you're burning up!"

"Hmm?" Belén slowly opened her eyes to find Barry bent down beside the couch. "...what?" her voice was quiet, as if she hadn't used it in days.

Barry could tell she had no idea what the hell was going on. He was had Iris called him. Knowing Belén, she must've been pretty upset to be asked to leave work due to illness.

He pressed a hand against Belén's forehead and felt an instant heat no human being should ever have. "Oh c'mon, Belén, have you taken anything yet?"

Belén's eyelids were half closed when she managed to sit up. The blanket around her - which turned out to be one of Axel's small ones - fell to the side. Her body did an immediate shiver. "No...? What's going on?"

Barry had never really seen Belén get sick before, so he prepared himself for the worst. "Iris called me earlier. She said you had to leave work early because you were sick."

At the reminder, Belén groaned. "Over dramatic."

"Over dram - Belén!" Barry frowned. "I don't need a thermometer to know you have at least a 100 fever right now."

"I say I don't," Belén replied in a defiant tone.

Barry raised an eyebrow at her. _So she's **that** type of person when they get sick. _"You're going to deny any symptom aren't you?"

Now it seemed Belén was getting upset. "Well, I could've stayed at work." Barry's very brief rolling eyes elicited a gasp of offence from Belén. "Do you think I shouldn't have?"

"I think..." Barry straightened up since his legs were falling asleep bent down, "...that you are very sick and need to rest."

"I'm not sick!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

Barry crossed his arms and looked down at her. "Then why are you shivering right now?"

Because even if Belen tried to hide it, her body would shiver every now and then. She huffed.

"Okay, so might be a _little_ sick."

"A little?" Barry asked with a tiny smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Listen, just because you are physically incapable of being sick doesn't mean you get to smirk at me like that," Belén wagged a finger at him. "Speedster or not, I _will_ smack you."

Barry barely restrained that laughter trying to slip through his mouth. "Okay. Do you want me to take you upstairs to your room or do you want me to get you a blanket here?"

"Umm..." Belén got to thinkingfor the first couple of seconds but as the seconds turned into minutes, Barry realized she lost her **train of thought**. She was now staring off into space.

With another smile, he made the choice for her. He bent down again and slid his arms around her to pick her up bridal style. "Off to your room!"

"My what?" Belén blinked back to the present day.

"Yeah, you're definitely not sick," Barry playfully rolled his eyes before speeding off.

Of course, when he put her down in her bedroom she felt her stomach flip with contents not willing to stay inside. She bolted out of the room and made it just in time to throw up in the restroom.

Barry winced with incredible guilt on his shoulders.

~0~

When Belén awoke from yet another impromptu nap, her mind was clearer but her body shivered even more with cold. As soon as Barry saw her stir, he got up from his chair and rushed to get the medicine on her bed stand.

"I may b-b-be sick but th-tha-that was not there bef-fore," she said in-between shivers.

"Caitlin made it for you," Barry helped her sit up. "Specifically made for our lovely Azalea's biology."

"Okay, maybe I _am_ sick," Belén sniffed. "Where's Axel? Oh my God did I forget him at school!?"

In her panic state, she moved to get up from the bed but Barey stopped her in time. "Iris picked him up, remember? He'll stay with her until you feel better."

Belén seemed to want to sigh but her shivers wouldn't let her. "O-of course I-I'd get s-sick right n-now..."

"Everyone gets sick, Bells," Barry said and instantly got a glare from her. "Okay, well, I don't but I got struck by lightning to get to this."

Belén rolled her eyes. "My head hurts, my stomach feels like its spinning and I'm cold!"

"Well take this," Barry motioned her to open her mouth for the spoonful of medicine. She obeyed and swallowed the liquid as quick as she could before getting a taste of it.

"Oh, that is disgusting," she made a face and even stuck her tongue out for a few seconds to get rid of some of the taste.

Barry couldn't help chuckle this time. "You're so adorable, you know that?"

Belén paused only to shoot him a glare. "How can I b-be so 'adorable' when I-I'm looking like c-crap right now?" Without tearing her glare from him, she reached for her blanket and threw it over her body.

Honestly, Barry thought she was just testing him to see if he would laugh at her again. He almost failed. Choosing to focus on her needs right now was the better choice. "Do you need me to bring in more blankets?"

"I n-n-need the frikin s-sun," Belén grumbled as she tightened the blanket around her.

Barry playfully rolled his eyes. "I've got a better idea. Can I join you?"

Belén once more paused and looked up at him as if he were crazy. "Seriously? I'm b-biting your h-head off and you st-still want t-to be here?"

Barry shrugged and inched closer to the bed. He put his hands behind his back and rocked on his feet. "I seriously like you." There was a brief smile on Belén's lips before she got cold again. "Okay, make space for the speedster who's also a heater." He carefully moved over Belén's body and laid down next to her. He could feel her shaking body as he moved her closer to him. "Are you okay?"

She gave a small nod of her and snuggled up to him. He was _so_ comfortable. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch."

Whether or not it was another test, Barry chuckled. "You're sick, Bells. No one likes being sick."

"I feel thoroughly disgusting," Belén took in a long sniff and started to cough. "Like seriously, st-stay away from me. I-i-it's for your own g-good."

"I don't think so," Barry held her closer just to prove to his point. He planted a kiss on her warm forehead and rested his head over hers. "Let me just take care of you, okay?"

"Wh-what about y-y-your work?"

"Called in sick."

"Y-you can't g-g-get sick!"

"Captain Singh doesn't know that."

"Oh my goodness, B-Barry," Belén shivered. She managed to turn her body around so that she was facing Barry. "Y-y-you're my best b-boyfriend. And I-I'm not saying th-that because y-you're the Fl-flash."

"Good to know," Barry nodded. "And you should know you're the best girlfriend I've ever had. Definitely the prettiest."

"You've had l-like three g-girlfriends, Barry."

Barry's face went flat at the reminder. "You're sick, you don't know what you're saying."

Belén was prepared to protest but a yawn overwhelmed her instead. Barry wouldn't tell her but the medicine Caitlin gave was prone to make her fall asleep. Knowing Belén, especially now that he was getting to know the type of person she was when she was sick, it was better if she didn't know sleeping wouldn't be a choice for her.

And sure enough, a few minutes later Belén fell asleep.

Without her ever feeling it, Barry sped away and came back with a forehead thermometer to take her temperature every now and then. He'd never actually seen Belén get sick in all their time dating...and he wished he wouldn't have to. To be quite honest, she looked miserable even while sleeping. She wasn't shivering anymore but her arms were still tangled underneath her in an attempt to warm up. He'd gotten another, heavier, blanket to cover her up while he wasn't lying next to her.

He'd maybe even called Caitlin once or twice...Nina too.

Both women assured him it was just a bug going around that Belén unfortunately picked up. Well, Barry told them both that bug should've thought twice before touching his Bells.

He was in the middle of an argument with Nina - to which he was losing badly, he would later describe - when he heard noises upstairs. It only took a couple seconds to realize it was Belén...vomiting. And to his misfortune, she'd locked the bathroom door on him.

"Belén! Seriously!?" he called to her from the other side.

"I _refuse_ to let you see me like this!" she exclaimed. "Fever is one thing but _vomiting_ is just plain _disgusting_."

"I don't - I just want to help you! I'm coming in!" He was fully prepared to phase through the door or just vibrate the doorknob off.

"You do that and I promise you I'll kill you," came the menacing threat a minute later.

Barry's face went flat again. "I'm prepared for a chase," he responded, much to her surprise. He raised a vibrating hand and struck it over the doorknob, making the golden knob fall to the floor.

Before Belén could yell at him, her body lurched forwards to continue throwing whatever little content her stomach held into the toilet. Barry knew there wasn't a lot he could do for her right now - in realistic terms - so he did the only thing he could think of. He pulled all her hair - which was tangled by now - and held it in one hand while the other rubbed her back.

"I'm sorry Bells," he winced after one particular harsh lurch of her body. That one would hurt her later.

A few minutes later, when Belén felt confident she was done, she flushed the toilet and prepared to stand. With her weak legs, the challenge seemed more difficult than thought so Barry helped her.

"I want to kill you but I also want to cry first," she admitted with truly glassy eyes. She felt his speed for a brief second as he returned with a glass of water for her to take and spit out. She did three gurgles before thinking it was enough for decent breath. "I need a mint," she added after a second of doubt.

Barry helped her out in seconds.

"Thanks," she dropped it into her mouth then made a move to leave the bathroom. "Stupid legs..." she said after Barry had to catch her from falling in the hallway. "I hate being sick."

"You'll be better tomorrow, I promise," Barry picked her up with ease, and no arguments this time, and headed back for her bedroom.

"Thank you for being here with me," she said once they were back in her room. "In my oh-so glamorous state."

Barry gave her one of his usual smiles. "Where else would I be?"

"I can think of some places," she smiled back, especially once her head felt the softness of her pillow.

"Not if you're not there!"

"You're so cheesy, you know that?"

"Hey, you want to watch some movies instead?" Barry sat at the edge of the bed, hoping to get her mind distracted for a while. "And maybe get some of Iris' grandmother's chicken soup?"

"Well..." Belén sat up a little bit and rested a hand over her stomach. "And disgusting as vomiting was...it did leave me a little more comfortable."

"Sometimes it's better to just... throw it all out," Barry shrugged. "At least that's what Joe used to tell Iris and me when we were kids."

"...can I get that soup, please?" Belén softly asked.

Barry smiled and nodded. "Give me two minutes tops."

Belén gave him the nod to go. sure enough, he had set everything up in her bedroom. Her laptop appeared in front of her with some fruit that could help her feel a little bit better too. And then a minute later was the soup that he promised her set on a breakfast tray.

"You're good at this," Belén mused once he was back with her. He'd sat himself next to her on the bed, ready to go. She picked up a sliced orange and sucked on the cold juice.

"I do what I can," Barry shrugged.

Belén swallowed her orange and grabbed a napkin. She then side-glanced him with a genuine smile. "Seriously, thanks. I feel like crap but you being here makes things a lot better."

Barry's response was to kiss her. "That's good to know."

"Oh, don't do that. You don't want to kiss someone who's sick," Belén crinkled her nose.

"I can't get sick, Bells, and even if I did I wouldn't care." He happily kissed her nose and pulled her closer. "What do you want to watch?"

"Umm... how's about the Breakfast Club? Timeless classic," Belén said with a slight eagerness to see one of her favorite movies.

To keep that eagerness present, Barry set up the movie for them. He was happy when he noticed she was picking more at her food.

"I think I'm done with that," she crinkled her nose halfways through the movie and moved that breakfast tray to the nightstand.

Barry pressed a hand to her forehead and decided she was a little too warm for his liking. "I think it's time for another dose."

"Mm, I'm tired," she snuggled to his chest and tried to keep watching the movie.

"Bells, just take it," Barry was prepared to spoon-feed her the pill if she wouldn't budge. "I _will_ open that mouth up."

Belén shut her eyes and buried her head in his chest. "I'm better now."

"You said you were tired."

"Well, I'm just sleepy."

" _Belén_..." Barry dropped a kiss to her cheek. "Don't be a child."

"I'm not."

"Belén, seriously," Barry kissed her temple then her nose when she moved her head.

"I'm good," she insisted.

Barry found her lips before she could hide again and kissed her. She hummed against his lips - a true testament that she _was_ getting better - and brought a hand to the back of his neck. When he deepened the kiss, her fingers pulled at his hair.

A few minutes passed by like that until Barry got to finish his trick. In ome second he had pulled away and dropped the pill into Belén's mouth. Belén blinked in surprise and had no choice but to swallow. Her hard shove against his chest did hurt, but Barry's laughter decreased it.

"You tricked me!" she cried in utter betrayal. "I thought you wanted to kiss me-"

Barry stopped laughing only to clarify, "-which I did. And may I say, you being sick has nothing on you."

She huffed and looked away. "You can go now."

"We haven't finished the movie yet," Barry nodded to the ongoing movie in front of them.

"It's okay. You can go now."

Even when she was mad, she still looked incredibly adorable. Barry couldn't get enough of her, honestly. "You can hate me but I'm not leaving," he kissed her cheek. He went for another kiss down her neck and while Belén tried acting nonchalant about it, she clearly liked it.

"You're so cute," Barry smiled and ran his hands down her side, maybe tickling her...maybe not...

But Belén's giggles indicated he was.

He kissed her lips once more and this time, Belén didn't tell him to leave. She asked him to kiss her again.


	3. Playing Cupid

**Author's Note:** So this one-shot actually contains the anagram of the name of my new Flash OC I'm drafting right now. First one to correctly guess the name of the OC can choose the prompt for the next one-shot!

* * *

Belén chewed the top of her pen while she scrolled down an endless article on her computer screen. She was to the point of falling asleep had it not been for the reminder she had lunch plans that day. When it was finally time, she packed her things and left in a hurry. She was in no plan to stay any longer than she needed.

"I just don't understand why we can't go to Jitters," she said on the phone during her walk on the street. "It's coffee, Barry. We have Jitters. Why can't we use it?"

"Because I thought change was something good," Barry replied on the other line. "I thought it'd be nice to try something else."

Belén rolled her eyes and stopped in front of the place Barry had chosen for their lunch. "Fine. I'm here. Where are you?"

"Still at work but I'll be there in a few, promise!"

"Yeah, you better," she promptly warned then hung up. She drew in a breath and resigned herself to the establishment Barry talked her into. _If I hadn't been a sucker for his charm I would be at Jitters right now_ , she thought.

She pulled the door open - immediately getting hit by a sweet bread scent. She admitted it smelled really good…

Her eyes scanned for an empty table to leave her things at, and luckily for her she found a table close to the counter. She left her bag over the table then made to get in line. Fortunately, there were only 2 people in front. By the time she got up to the counter, she'd made her mind up on getting something called a rose flower bun.

It smelled absolutely delicious.

"Let me get two of the rose flower buns," Belén hummed while she searched for a good drink. She ultimately decided that all the drinks' tastes were unknown to her. "Do you recommend any drink there?"

The brunette barista hummed as well she leaned over the counter to get a look at the menu. When she did, Belén got a look of the woman's name tag: Ania Elt.

"I know it's basic but the iced caramel macchiato is always so good," Ania straightened up and offered one dutiful smile for the customer.

Belén figured she would just have that drink and wait for Barry to find something else. She took her receipt and waited for her order on the side. While she did, she checked her phone several times for any notification of Barry's. He still wasn't there and he really had no excuse since he was a speedster.

"Oh hey Cayden," Ania's voice was suddenly squeaky, leading Belén to look up from her phone.

Cayden was a tall blonde and by the looks of it, he had quite the effect on Ania because the poor woman's face was red.

"Hey Ani," Cayden seemed to be nervous as well and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know why. "I'm here for the usual."

Somehow that was a difficult conversation to have between them because even when Belén finally returned to her table, they were still going on and on about...muffins.

' _Woooow…'_ Belén couldn't help mouth behind her cup.

"Belén, I am so sorry I'm late!" Barry came in flying, not using his speed only because they were in public. He raced to the table and gave Belén an apologetic kiss before sitting down. "Captain Singh had me filing and I tried to use my speed but he wouldn't leave-"

Belén waved him off in favor of the show happening at the counter. "It's fine. Get a load of that." Her nod towards the counter made Barry look over, but having no context he only saw the barista and customer talking.

"What?"

"It's so funny. That girl - her name's Ania - she so has a crush on that guy and she can't even get a word without squeaking."

Barry focused more and saw what she hadn't. "Well, that guy likes her too."

Belén blinked and turned her gaze to him for the moment. "Really? How can you tell?"

"Well," Barry got more comfortable in his chair, "The guy's obviously got his drink already," - he nodded at the cup in Cayden's hand - "And he's obviously just make small talk out of anything because he doesn't want to go sit down."

"He already has a table?"

"Nope. Nothing of his is around here. He literally came to stand at the counter."

"Huh…" Belén rested her elbow on the table to then put her chin on her palm. "So then why don't they just get together already? Go on a date or something…"

"Dunno," Barry shrugged and stared at the two hopeless people at the counter, like Belén had. "They probably don't realize they both like each other so the guy is probably not going to get that courage until much, _much_ later."

"Meanwhile, our poor barista is going to try to push her feelings away then, making ideas that there were never really any feelings - and oh my god they're us," Belén's eyes suddenly widened at her realization. She lowered her coffee cup and glanced at Barry - who was confused with her - then spoke in a much more hushed tone. "Barry, they're _us_. From before we started dating?"

"What?" he made a face, quickly shooting the two at the counter a look. "No! How?"

"Because they're hopeless idiots and that's what we were? I mean, I denied feelings for you-"

"-because you were scared that your powers were going to drive me away. Which they didn't," Barry gestured to their closeness, making her roll her eyes. "And that was totally different."

"Different reasons, same feelings. And how long did it take you finally ask me out?"

Barry's face went flat. "That was definitely not the same." Belén's smirk was nothing but annoying at that moment. "It wasn't!" Barry exclaimed, attracting the attention of a nearby table. He cleared his throat and pushed his chair closer to Belén to continue but obviously quieter. "I didn't ask you because I didn't want to ruin our friendship."

"Well that's probably what poor Cayden is also thinking, then," Belén nodded towards the blonde. "If he obviously likes her like you say he does, then he's oblivious to the fact Ania likes him back. He's too nervous about his own feelings to notice hers. Isn't that what you were going through?"

"No!"

Belén tilted her head at him, her sharp look making Barry squirm in his chair. "Barry?"

"Let's just have lunch," the speedster offered instead of relenting.

"And let those two just pass us by?"

"What?" Now Barry was even more confused. He'd found this place to have a different type of lunch than what Jitters had on the menu, and now she was focusing on some strangers?

"Barry, we were lucky to have good friends who pushed to be together. Maybe we can do the same for them."

"We don't even know them!"

"Doesn't mean we can't play cupid."

"Kind of, yeah-" Belén raised a hand to stop him. Barry's eyes flickered between Belén and the strangers for a few seconds before sighing. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

The smile on Belén's face said it all.

Barry sighed and gestured for her to take the lead in this sudden plan. "I'm very hungry, I'll have you know."

"You're always hungry," Belén patted his arm then kissed his cheek. "Now let's see what we can do to help those two."

Barry thought honestly, if anything just to get to lunch already. It couldn't be that hard so he went with the simplest of things. In two seconds he'd gone to the counter and back, leaving only a small breeze as evidence.

"What just happened?" Belén blinked once said breeze hit her.

Barry reached for her cup of coffee on the table and took a small sip. "I did what you wanted."

Confused, Belén looked to the counter and saw Cayden focusing on his coffee cup for some reason. Her eyes widened when she saw a phone number written on it. "Oh, you didn't…"

Barry smirked while he took another drink from her cup. "Done deal. Got her number off her phone."

"Ooh, you are good and sneaky. Only 2 seconds? New record," she took her cup back to drink, but when she did she found that it was empty.

"It's actually really good coffee," Barry casually remarked while he got to looking at the menu. He missed her momentary deadpanning look in the process.

"Fine," Belén took in a breath and got up to go order again. "Be back in a sec." She moved up to the counter and once again ordered the same coffee Ania had recommended.

"You downed it all, already?" Ania chuckled while she handed Belén her change.

"Half of it. My boyfriend got into it as well," Belén nodded to Barry, who was focused on the many things he was about to order from the menu.

Ania followed Belén's nod and smiled. "He seems nice, though."

"Oh yeah, biggest kind idiot you'll ever meet," Belén tucked her change into her back pocket then happened to glance in Cayden's direction. He was boredly sitting at his table, but his hand was gripping that coffee cup - with Ania's number written on it - like his life depended on it. "You got any boyfriend who eats your lunch?"

Ania blushed and shook her head. She moved around the counter to get Belén's drink. "No. No one."

"Really? No cute guy has caught your eye?" Belén found it hard not to outright point at Cayden.

Ania's cheeks flushed a brighter pink. Thankfully, it was hidden while she poured some caramel into the cup of coffee. "Nope…"

"Really? Cos that blonde guy over there said you were a really sweet barista here," Belén felt she was making a good thing here. So Cayden hadn't said that, but it wasn't like he didn't think it.

Ania's eyes widened for a second. She turned around with Belén's drink ready to go. "Did he really?" she came up to the counter and put the cup down. "How do you know Cayden?"

"I don't. I bumped into him out on the street and somehow I mentioned I was looking for a place to have lunch. Suggested this place purely because of you."

Ania glanced at Cayden - who briefly caught the gaze and smiled - then quickly looked back to Belén. "That...that's so sweet of him. I didn't know he thought that about me."

"Well, there you go…" Belén picked up her cup and walked back for her table. When she sat down, Barry immediately noticed her big smile.

"What did you do?"

"My part," Belén gave a mock salute with her coffee before taking a drink.

~ 0 ~

Well, their plan worked like a charm. Cayden did end up calling Ania for a date...a date that was set up that Saturday night at a lovely restaurant Belén knew perfectly well.

" _What_ are we doing here?" Barry folded his arms over his chest and boredly watched Cayden and Ania waiting to be seated at said restaurant. They stood across the street with some kind of purpose Barry didn't know of yet.

"Making sure their date goes okay, what else?" Belén made a face that basically said he should've known this already. It was fairly obvious, after all.

" _How_ did you even find out they were having a date? And how'd you know it'd be here!?"

"Because I'm Ania's new friend, that's why," Belén said proudly.

Barry gave her a long, thoughtful stare. "...don't you think you're taking this a bit too far?"

Belén scoffed. "What am I doing? I'm not breaking the law, and these two are consenting adults. What's the big deal?"

"It's just strange you're getting so hung up on them," Barry shrugged his shoulders.

"They just remind me of us," Belén said honestly before she started crossing the street for the restaurant.

"You keep saying that..." Barry went after her. He followed her down the new sidewalk until they were on the other side of the restaurant's outside patio.

"Because it's true. First date that they probably spent the whole day planning? Ania probably changed like a thousand times before she settled with her outfit. Even now, though, she probably feels like it wasn't good enough," Belén shrugged this time. She looked into the patio and saw a bunch of flower-less bushes surrounding the tables. Cayden and Ania were being brought into the patio so, on a quick thought, Belén decided to give it some azaleas for decoration. The pink flowers bloomed all around, just in time because the couple was coming in now.

Barry briefly glanced at Belén before speeding off. He lit the candles in the patio - making it seem as if they'd just turned on for the occasion - and returned to Belén's side a minute later. "Well, I'm pretty sure Cayden probably did a lot of research on what restaurant would be best for a first date. And then he too changed a thousand times before coming up with something decent. But, and I'm just thinking, he probably saw Ania and thought ' _what the hell am I going to do?_ ' because he likes her a lot."

Belén purposely avoided looking at him, but her tight smile indicated she was struggling not to blush. "Does he also remember the first-date rush of feelings? Cos I'm pretty sure Ania's getting them right now. She's red as the wine she's drinking."

"Yeah, cos I'm sure that's exactly what Cayden's feeling right now."

A few minutes passed by in silence. The two metahumans just watched the date progress and got even more memories of their own first date.

"I know it's stupid to ask, but...do you ever...kind of...miss those feelings?" Belén shyly glanced Barry's way. "Like...those first first date feelings? The nervousness, the butterflies in your stomach...the ' _oh my god our knees just brushed together_ ' kind of thing?"

Barry gave a light shrug. "Yeah, but...I like where we are now too."

"Really?"

"Yeah! The first dates are always a rush of feelings but then later on, like now, we just have a deeper connection. It's more serious now, and...I may like that even more."

Belén looked at the patio again, in time to see Ania laughing at something Cayden had said. "That makes sense. I like it too. The first dates just have that type of spark, you know? But..." she turned to face Barry, "...the sparks get even better later. I guess I forgot about that."

"Just a little," Barry smiled at her. He took one of her hands and used it to bring her closer to him. "Soo...if we're done playing Cupid here...why don't we go on our own date? I don't mean to brag but I think we can have a better date. It'll involve a lot more kissing, that's for sure."

"Ooh...you should've led with that. I want a lot of kisses," Belén leaned up to get a sample of those kisses.

"C'mon," Barry wrapped an arm around her waist then took off with her to have a lovely date with her.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So, the anagram is "Ania Elt"! Start guessing!


	4. It's Miraculous

"YO!" Cisco made his call exceptionally loud as he and Belén walked into the cortex. Cisco wiggled his left hand index finger in the air as he once again called to his friends. "We have something important to discuss!"

"And what would that be?" Caitlin sat at the desk and was giving Cisco a strange look. Barry shared her same look, though he glanced at Belén for a clue of what Cisco's discussion would be about. She and Cisco had gone out for the afternoon but Belén hadn't told Barry what they would be doing.

" _Halloween_!" Cisco promptly exclaimed, his index finger still in the air. " _Costumes_! What _are_ we going to be!?"

Belén rolled her eyes beside him. "So when Cisco told me he needed my help this afternoon, he meant he needed my assistance in finding himself a costume..." Caitlin and Barry couldn't help but chuckle, much to her annoyance. "It's not funny. My entire afternoon... _wasted_!"

Cisco turned to the ombre-blonde, gasping in offence. "I thought you would be honored that I wanted your opinion on my costume."

"it's hard to give opinions on a scooby-doo costume," Belén's flat tone wasn't appreciated at all.

"Scooby-Doo?" Barry repeated, almost to the brink of laughter.

"It was cool!" Cisco snapped.

"I can't imagine it was," Caitlin tilted her head as if she were picturing the costume right then.

"Alright, so it was a mistake and I obviously didn't buy it," Cisco gestured to his current clothing, "But it does still leave me costume-less and Halloween is in _two_ days! I need ideas people!"

"Why are you even trying to dress up?" Barry asked, though the mere question seemed like blasphemy judging by Cisco's face.

" _Um_ , did you miss the memo? I just said Halloween is in two days!"

"Forget it," Belén warned Barry. "I asked the same thing and that earned me another hour at Party City." Her eyes widened at the reminder of the busy, _busy_ store.

"Cisco, you basically tortured my girlfriend," Barry frowned at Cisco. "Not cool dude."

Belén put on a show by pouting and walking to where Barry was sitting and sat on his lap. "I'm suing for psychological damage."

Cisco rolled his eyes at the pair. "Oh forget it!" he stormed out of the cortex, ignoring the other's collective laugh behind.

"And just so we're clear-" Belén pointed a finger at Barry then Caitlin, "-one of you will be taking the next shift. You know he's not stopping until he finds himself a costume."

"What are you going to be for Halloween?" Barry curiously asked her. They hadn't really talked about their plans for the day, much less the evening.

"I don't know," she shrugged then looked over at Caitlin. "And you Cait?"

"I'll be a scientist," Caitlin gestured at herself. "It's free and I'm already one." The couple chuckled at her but Belén did promise that she would give Caitlin, and perhaps even Iris, a costume idea.

~ 0 ~

"Maybe we could go to a Halloween party?" Belén was giving Barry suggestions on what to do for Halloween. The speedster had just brought them to Belén's mother's home. They were due for dinner and for once, they were going to be early.

"Do you even know where one is going to be held?" Barry laughed when Belén's face went flat.

"Okay, well, I can google one..."

"We are _that_ lame," Barry couldn't help snicker.

"Excuse you," Belén pulled out the key for door but gave Barry a sharp glance just before, "I used to be invited to all Halloween parties when I was in college. I was quite popular." She unlocked the door and walked in first. "So I'll just have to find a party for this week-"

"-auntie Belén!" they heard Belén's nephew, Axel, as soon as they walked in. "Look what I got!"

The four year old boy came running from the living room in his brand new Halloween costume. He was dressed in a dark purple - almost looking black in the lighting - suit. It had butterfly wings beginning from the chest that sprouted to each of his shoulders. There was a silver butterfly brooch pinned right below his neck. The brooch had a purple gem at the center where the wings connected. Axel had a silver cowl that covered the top of his head, the back of it, the bottom of his chin and most of his face except for his mouth.

"Woah, is that your costume?" Barry blinked at the young boy. He didn't understand what Axel was supposed to be.

"Oh yeah," Veronica, Belén's mother, sighed from the living room. She was folding the bag where the costume was meant to be in. "Couldn't talk him out of it no matter how hard I tried."

"What are you supposed to be? Slender Man?" Barry couldn't think of anything else.

Belén snorted. "Of course _not_! He's Hawk Moth."

"Hawk _what_?"

"Hawk Moth!" Axel flapped his arms to the side then rushed back to the living room. The two metas followed after him to see him picking up a black cane on the couch. "From Miraculous Ladybug!"

Barry really wanted to pretend that he knew what that was, but his face betrayed him. He looked to Belén for some additional help.

"It's a kid's show about some teenagers being animal-themed superheroes," she explained. "Axel and I watch it every week, don't we?"

Axel excitedly nodded. "Aha! And it's going to be so much fun when you dress up too, auntie Belén!"

At that, Barry raised an eyebrow at Belén because he hadn't heard of that plan. Belén's expression indicated she'd forgotten as well.

"Well..." she said after a moment, "...I told you that I always had Halloween plans. I'm very popular."

Barry rolled his eyes. "What's your aunt going to do with you for Halloween, Axel?" he asked the boy since it was clear Belén still had no idea what she'd promised the boy.

"She's taking him out for trick-or-treating," Veronica was the one to answer as she gave her daughter a sharpened-eyed look. "Because grandma is working that night."

"Right," Belén bit her lip and awkwardly smiled. "May have forgotten that."

"Well you better jot it down because Halloween is the worst night a detective could have," Veronica groaned. "Stupid teenagers pulling pranks, drunks making a mess-"

"-mom there's a child," Belén reminded her. It was ironic considering Veronica was always on guard about their vocabulary around Axel.

Veronica put the costume's bad down on the couch then pointed a finger at Belén. "You're taking him out, period. I'm going to get dinner out."

"So it looks like I have plans," Belén turned to Barry with an apologetic face. "Sorry."

"No worries, we can go out together if...it's okay with Axel?" Barry checked for the boy's reaction and saw he was already beaming under the mask.

"That would be so cool! Auntie Belén said she would wear a costume - will you wear one too?"

"I...guess so," shrugged Barry. "We'll just have to come up with ideas for it."

"I already have one," Axel announced, even more excited now. "I already told auntie Belén what she could be and she said 'okay'."

"You did?" Belén blinked. She really needed to start paying more attention to what promises she made. Axel had a good memory so anything she promised she had to see through.

"This should be interesting," Barry grinned.

~ 0 ~

Barry was right.

This Halloween was _so_ going to be interesting.

Axel had reminded Belén what she was going to be for Halloween and once that was settled, Belén had the idea to get Barry and the others in on it too. Some, like Caitlin, weren't that excited about it. _Others_ , however...were all for it.

"YEAH! Carapace is in the house!" Cisco exclaimed with a fist in the air when he walked into the Palayta's home. He wielded a turtle's shell as his shield and pulled up the green cowl over his head. The cowl came with goggles. He was dressed in an dark green one-suit with a lighter shade green octagon shapes over his chest. The turtle shell-shield was actually meant to be strapped on his back, but Cisco found great pleasure in wielding it.

"You look ridiculous," Iris was the first to say. She leaned against the back of the couch, also dressed in a costume. Where Cisco was a turtle, Iris was the Queen Bee. It came with the yellow and black one-suit, resembling a bee's body, where the black stripes went over her chest and thighs. She had bee hair pin that was positioned on the side of her head. Her hair had been picked up into a high pony-tail and had streaks of yellow high lights. She had a black mask covering her eyes with the inside color being yellow.

"Ah, Queen Bee," Cisco gave her a narrowed-eyed look from his spot. "We're frenemies, you know."

"Yeah, Axel was just telling me about it," Iris shook her head. She was actually amused by the whole situation. The costume was pretty cool, but she wouldn't admit that to Cisco unless she wanted an hour-long ramble to go along with it. "But I want to know how the hell do _you_ know this costume, or yours for that matter."

"I watch Miraculous Ladybug," Cisco shrugged casually. "It's actually pretty deep for a kid's show. Axel can't understand the struggles Adrien and Marientte go through in order to keep their secret identities a secret."

"I can't believe you," Iris laughed.

"Oh but you should," came Caitlin's voice as she emerged from the kitchen. Like the other two, she was dressed in a Miraculous costume.

"Oh-ho-ho!" Cisco gave her a smirk that Caitlin frowned at. " _Rena Rouge_! You and I are..." he slid a few feet towards her, "...a couple, you know."

Caitlin's face went flat. Her eyes flickered to Iris with an expression that more or less asked 'is this what I'm going to be dealing with all night?'.

Caitlin was dressed a in a fox-like one suit. It was a bright orange with her chest and stomach being white and her knee-length boots being black, as well as her black gloves. Like Iris, her hair had been picked up and had white highlights. There were long fox ears at the top of her head. She had a necklace of a fox's tail around her neck and her flute strapped to her back.

"Ladies, you look awesome," Cisco gave a mock bow to them both. "And together we are even more awesome."

"I feel ridiculous," Caitlin shook her head. "I can't believe I let Belén talk me into this."

"It's more for Axel," Iris reminded her. "He's really into the show and who are we to break a kid's heart on Halloween?"

As if calling to him, Axel came rushing down the staircase in his costume. "Okay, we're all done!"

"Aha, Hawk Moth," Cisco pointed at the boy with narrowed eyes. "You will not get our Miraculouses."

Axel giggled but quickly sobered to put on a mean face (though with his cowl it was mostly hidden). He pointed his black cane at Cisco. "I _will_ get your Miraculous. I will get _all_ of the Miraculouses!"

"Oh boy," Belén said as she walked down the steps with Barry behind her. "Cisco, I can't believe you're this into the show. You should've been over when we watched it on Netflix."

"You should've invited me!"

"Nice costumes," Iris remarked once they got a good look at the couple.

"I feel weird," Barry had to admit. Sure he wore suits but this one was just all plain black with a golden bell around his neck and a _tail_ on his back. He had a black mask over his face along with black cat ears. His baton was on his back. "I'm a _cat_."

"You're _Chat Noir_ , Barry!" Axel groaned as this was the third time he corrected Barry. "You're Ladybug's partner!" he gestured to Belén who was in the respective ladybug costume.

It was a deep red one-suit with black spots all over it. She had the trusty yo-yo wrapped around her waist along with the same red-and-black mask over her eyes. Her hair had been pulled up into low pony tails that were strategically wrapped so her hair would appear shorter than what it was. There were red ribbons tied to each pony tail.

"And _I'm_ Ladybug," Belén proudly said, though ended up laughing. "We all look so cool right now."

"Aha!" Axel agreed and rushed for his pumpkin on the coffee table.

"We're not actually going out like this, are we?" Barry whispered to her, but she was already nodding his head before he finished the question.

"What's the matter? You look adorable," she ticked the bell on his neck, making Iris and Caitlin lose it with laughter.

"Quit laughing, it's an important part of the costume," hissed Cisco. He walked over to Barry and clapped his shoulder. "It's okay man, they don't get but _I_ do."

"Okay, let's go!" Axel called as he headed for the door.

"Oh dear," Caitlin drew in a deep breath as she followed Iris.

"Relax Cait," Belén called but the brunette shook his head. "You're wearing a mask - no one knows it's you!"

"I can't believe you roped me into this," Barry told her as they followed last.

"And I can't believe you thought you had a change at getting out of it," she snickered. She locked the door and put the key into the yo-yo which turned out to be a good small bag. "Now c'mon my kitty."

" _Belén_ -" Barry flushed under his mask.

"-actually, Chat Noir calls Ladybug 'M'lady' because he has a crush on her. _So_ , do the role, yeah?" Belén smirked at him. "Don't really have to pretend there, right?"

Barry rolled his eyes but had to nod. "Fine. Let's go M'lady," he grabbed her hand and walked them to the group on the sidewalk.

They brought Axel down all the streets he wanted to go to and despite being hesitant with their costumes, many people seemed to love it...especially the kids.

"Woah that's so cool!" one of Axel's friends, Ian, had been one of the many to stop the group. "You got the whole team!"

"Yeah!" Axel was grinning from ear to ear, each time wider than the last time someone complimented them. "But they're all going to lose to me."

"You wish!" snorted Cisco who, yet again, pulled out his shield. "Carapace doesn't go down that easily!"

"Will he ever get tired of doing that?" Caitlin shook her head.

"Aw cool, Rena Rouge!" Ian ran up to the brunette, startling her. "You're my favorite!"

Despite it being dark, Caitlin's face went a bright red. "Uuh...thanks..."

"I love when Rena Rouge plays her flute and then makes something up with the music!"

"Uuh...yeah, I like that too," Caitlin offered the boy a small smile. "I like your costume too, by the way."

"Yeah, I think my friend does too," Belén nudged Barry's side. Ian had dressed up as the Flash, complete with the mask and all. It was adorable.

"Super cool," Barry had to admit. Ian was one of the many Flashes they'd seen on their tirck-or-treat spree and it was honestly such a good feeling. There were kids, teenagers and adults all dressing up like him.

And of course Azaleas.

There were plenty of people dressing up as her too.

Each time Belén saw one, she giggled and pointed it out.

"My friend's going as the Azalea," Ian pointed to the girl a few feet from them, standing with her mother.

"Awesome costumes guys," Belén gave them a thumbs up.

"Okay, this was a pretty cool idea," Iris admitted once they began walking again. She'd been stopped several times because of her bee costume because the person happened to love the hero.

"Told yah," Belén looked over at Barry for his expression. He seemed more or less comfortable but there was still that bit going against it. "Oh my kitty, give me a smile."

"Belén, seriously," Barry hated his automatic blushing reaction. It didn't help that each time she called him that, Cisco threw him a smirk.

Belén laughed once again. She ushered the others to take Axel to the next house while she stayed back with Barry. "What's the matter, kitty? Are you mad with me?"

"I swear - stop that," Barry sounded like was begging more than asking.

"Why?" she chuckled. "You're my kitty. And I'm your ladybug. You're my Flash, and I'm your Azalea, right?" Barry nodded. She ticked his golden bell again then leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. "I'd kiss you more but in these costumes...probably traumatic for kids."

"Then we should finish this night quicker so we can have our own party," Barry wrapped an arm around her waist. "M'lady."

Belén smirked. "Oh, I'm going to have to ask that you keep calling me that from now on, okay? It makes me feel... _good_."

"Will do," Barry smirked as well. "M'lady."

"My kitty," Belén kissed him again then grabbed his hand and led him towards the others.

* * *

 **A/N** : Soooo I had this idea a while ago and I've been saving this draft for Halloween. I just couldn't see them dressing up as anything else but Miraculous xD.


End file.
